---
title: "Messaging apps in New Zealand: Which brands are most popular in search?"
description: "Compare the messaging apps New Zealanders chat on. Share of Search among WhatsApp, Discord, WeChat, Messenger, Viber and Signal, the messaging apps Brandwave compares in New Zealand, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-messaging-apps"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Messaging apps in New Zealand: Which brands are most popular in search?

Compare the messaging apps New Zealanders chat on. Share of Search among WhatsApp, Discord, WeChat, Messenger, Viber and Signal, the messaging apps Brandwave compares in New Zealand, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Competitive set**: Messaging apps
- **Market**: New Zealand
- **Brands compared**: 6
- **Month measured**: Aug 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: WhatsApp, 58%

## Which brand is most popular in search among messaging apps in New Zealand?

- In August 2026, WhatsApp was the most searched among messaging apps in New Zealand, with an estimated 194K branded searches and 58% estimated Share of Search within this set.
- Discord is in 2nd place, 22.2 percentage points behind at 35.9% Share of Search.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, WhatsApp’s estimated Share of Search among messaging apps in New Zealand increased from 51.3% to 58%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Discord’s estimated Share of Search among messaging apps in New Zealand decreased from 42.2% to 35.9%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, WhatsApp’s estimated Share of Search among messaging apps in New Zealand peaked at 58% in August 2026 and was lowest at 49% in December 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Discord’s estimated Share of Search among messaging apps in New Zealand peaked at 44.1% in November 2025 and was lowest at 35.7% in June 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, WeChat, Messenger, Viber and Signal held steady: their estimated Share of Search among messaging apps in New Zealand each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [WhatsApp vs Discord: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/discord-vs-whatsapp): 58% against 35.9% Share of Search.
- [WhatsApp vs WeChat: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/wechat-vs-whatsapp): 58% against 2.4% Share of Search.
- [Discord vs WeChat: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/discord-vs-wechat): 35.9% against 2.4% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for New Zealand messaging apps in August 2026?

- In August 2026, WhatsApp gained estimated Share of Search among messaging apps in New Zealand, from 55.4% to 58%.
- In August 2026, Discord lost estimated Share of Search among messaging apps in New Zealand, from 38.1% to 35.9%.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for WeChat in New Zealand fell 13.1% over 11 measured months, from 9.2K to 8K in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Viber in New Zealand fell 11.5% over 11 measured months, from 4.7K to 4.2K in August 2026.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | WhatsApp | 58% | 194K | +11.2% | Meta |
| 2 | Discord | 35.9% | 120K | +0.1% | Discord |
| 3 | WeChat | 2.4% | 8K | +0.8% | WeChat |
| 4 | Messenger | 1.8% | 5.9K | -2.5% | Meta |
| 5 | Viber | 1.2% | 4.2K | +4.3% | Viber |
| 6 | Signal | 0.73% | 2.4K | -5.1% | Signal |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | WhatsApp | 174K | 51.3% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | Discord | 143K | 42.2% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | WeChat | 9.2K | 2.7% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | Messenger | 5.8K | 1.7% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | Viber | 4.7K | 1.4% | 5 |
| Oct 2025 | Signal | 2.3K | 0.69% | 6 |
| Nov 2025 | WhatsApp | 161K | 49.8% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | Discord | 142K | 44.1% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | WeChat | 7.5K | 2.3% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Messenger | 5.7K | 1.8% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Viber | 4.7K | 1.5% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | Signal | 1.8K | 0.54% | 6 |
| Dec 2025 | WhatsApp | 134K | 49% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | Discord | 119K | 43.7% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | WeChat | 6.6K | 2.4% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | Messenger | 5.9K | 2.2% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Viber | 5.2K | 1.9% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | Signal | 2.2K | 0.79% | 6 |
| Jan 2026 | WhatsApp | 160K | 53.1% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Discord | 120K | 39.6% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | WeChat | 7.7K | 2.5% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Messenger | 5.8K | 1.9% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Viber | 5.7K | 1.9% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | Signal | 2.7K | 0.88% | 6 |
| Feb 2026 | WhatsApp | 161K | 53.8% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Discord | 119K | 39.8% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | WeChat | 7.3K | 2.4% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Messenger | 4.9K | 1.6% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Viber | 4.9K | 1.6% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | Signal | 2.3K | 0.78% | 6 |
| Mar 2026 | WhatsApp | 195K | 53.7% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Discord | 147K | 40.3% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | WeChat | 8.6K | 2.4% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Messenger | 5.9K | 1.6% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Viber | 4.8K | 1.3% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | Signal | 2.4K | 0.67% | 6 |
| Apr 2026 | WhatsApp | 174K | 51.4% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Discord | 144K | 42.5% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | WeChat | 8.3K | 2.4% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Messenger | 5.8K | 1.7% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Viber | 4.3K | 1.3% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | Signal | 2.4K | 0.7% | 6 |
| May 2026 | WhatsApp | 194K | 54% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Discord | 145K | 40.4% | 2 |
| May 2026 | WeChat | 7.4K | 2.1% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Messenger | 5.1K | 1.4% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Viber | 5.1K | 1.4% | 5 |
| May 2026 | Signal | 2.8K | 0.79% | 6 |
| Jun 2026 | WhatsApp | 194K | 58% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | Discord | 120K | 35.7% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | WeChat | 7.9K | 2.4% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Messenger | 6K | 1.8% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Viber | 4.6K | 1.4% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | Signal | 2.5K | 0.76% | 6 |
| Jul 2026 | WhatsApp | 174K | 55.4% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Discord | 120K | 38.1% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | WeChat | 7.9K | 2.5% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | Messenger | 6K | 1.9% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | Viber | 4K | 1.3% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | Signal | 2.6K | 0.81% | 6 |
| Aug 2026 | WhatsApp | 194K | 58% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | Discord | 120K | 35.9% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | WeChat | 8K | 2.4% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Messenger | 5.9K | 1.8% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Viber | 4.2K | 1.2% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | Signal | 2.4K | 0.73% | 6 |
| Sep 2026 | Discord | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Messenger | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Signal | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Viber | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | WeChat | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | WhatsApp | — | — | — |

## What is being compared

- **Discord**: Measured on the search terms “browser discord”, “dating discord servers”, “desktop discord”, “discord”, “discord app”, “discord chat”, “discord com”, “discord community platform”, “discord desktop site”, “discord forum”, “discord link”, “discord me”, “discord membership”, “discord messages”, “discord near me”, “discord new zealand”, “discord nz”, “discord online”, “discord online community”, “discord servers”, “discord web”, “discord web app”, “discord web browser” and “sexting discord”, summed into one figure.
- **Messenger**: Measured on the search terms “deleted messages messenger”, “disappearing messages messenger”, “fb messenger app”, “fb messenger app download”, “messenger app”, “messenger app for desktop”, “messenger chat” and “messenger messages”, summed into one figure.
- **Signal**: Measured on the search terms “signal app”, “signal app download”, “signal app message”, “signal chat”, “signal chat app”, “signal encrypted messaging app”, “signal messages”, “signal private messaging app” and “signal secure messaging app”, summed into one figure.
- **Viber**: Measured on the search terms “rakuten viber”, “the viber”, “viber”, “viber app”, “viber app download”, “viber app for android”, “viber chat”, “viber com”, “viber dl”, “viber messages”, “viber near me”, “viber new zealand”, “viber nz”, “viber online” and “viber out”, summed into one figure.
- **WeChat**: Measured on the search terms “qr wechat”, “wechat”, “wechat app”, “wechat app desktop”, “wechat app download”, “wechat chat”, “wechat com”, “wechat desktop”, “wechat dl”, “wechat for windows”, “wechat near me”, “wechat nz”, “wechat online”, “wechat pay” and “wechat web”, summed into one figure.
- **WhatsApp**: Measured on the search terms “download whatsapp for windows”, “jibi whatsapp”, “my whatsapp”, “whatsapp”, “whatsapp app”, “whatsapp chat”, “whatsapp com”, “whatsapp com web”, “whatsapp download whatsapp download whatsapp”, “whatsapp messages”, “whatsapp near me”, “whatsapp new zealand”, “whatsapp nz”, “whatsapp online”, “whatsapp web”, “whatsapp web app”, “whatsapp web download”, “whatsapp web online”, “whatsapp windows”, “ww whatsapp web”, “www whatsapp app com” and “www whatsapp com web”, summed into one figure.

- [Discord](/demand/nz/brands/discord)
- [Messenger](/demand/nz/brands/messenger)
- [Signal](/demand/nz/brands/signal)
- [Viber](/demand/nz/brands/viber)
- [WeChat](/demand/nz/brands/wechat)
- [WhatsApp](/demand/nz/brands/whatsapp)

## Methodology

- [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which brand is most popular in search among messaging apps in New Zealand?

In August 2026, WhatsApp was the most searched among messaging apps in New Zealand, with an estimated 194K branded searches and 58% estimated Share of Search within this set.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Messaging apps in New Zealand: Which brands are most popular in search?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-messaging-apps

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-messaging-apps. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.